Percy Plate is a web-based food cost calculator for food trucks, caterers, cottage food producers, and small restaurant owners. It lets you enter your ingredients and what you pay for them, build recipes, and instantly see the cost per serving and recommended sell price based on your target food cost percentage.

Yes. Percy Plate has a free plan that lets you create up to 10 ingredients and 5 recipes to calculate food cost. A paid subscription ($14.99/month or $119.99/year) unlocks unlimited ingredients and recipes plus inventory tracking, revenue reporting, menu engineering, Prime Cost, AI invoice scanning, FDA nutrition facts labels, FDA ingredient labels, and label printing.

How does Percy Plate calculate food cost?

You enter each ingredient, the unit you buy it in (lb, oz, gallon, etc.), and what you pay per unit. When you build a recipe, Percy Plate converts the recipe quantities to your purchase units, calculates the cost of each ingredient used, and divides by the number of servings to give you a cost per serving. It also shows the food cost percentage and a suggested sell price.

Can Percy Plate generate nutrition facts labels?

Yes. Percy Plate can look up nutrition data from the USDA FoodData Central database for each ingredient, then automatically calculate the per-serving nutrition for a recipe. It generates an FDA-format Nutrition Facts panel that can be printed directly to thermal labels (Brother, Dymo, Zebra) or Avery sheet labels in sizes 2x4 inch and 3.33x4 inch.

Can Percy Plate generate an ingredient list label?

Yes. Percy Plate generates an FDA-compliant ingredient label that lists ingredients by weight (heaviest first), automatically detects the top 9 FDA allergens, and includes your business name and net weight. Labels can be printed to thermal printers or Avery sheet labels.

What label printers work with Percy Plate?

Percy Plate supports thermal label printers including Brother QL series (DK-1202 2x4 inch labels), Dymo LabelWriter (30334 and similar), and Zebra desktop printers. It also supports Avery 5163 (2x4 inch) and Avery 5164 (3.33x4 inch) sheet labels for standard desktop printers.

Who is Percy Plate designed for?

Percy Plate is designed for small food business owners including food truck operators, cottage food producers, caterers, small restaurant owners, and anyone who sells homemade or prepared food and needs to track ingredient costs, price their menu, and produce product labels.

Does Percy Plate work on mobile?

Yes. Percy Plate is a web application that works on any device with a modern browser, including phones and tablets. You can look up ingredient costs, update recipe quantities, and check your food cost percentage from anywhere.

How do you calculate food cost percentage?

Food cost percentage = (ingredient cost per serving ÷ menu price) × 100. For example, if your ingredients cost $3.50 and you sell the dish for $12.00, your food cost percentage is 29.2%. Most food businesses target 28–35%. To set a price from a target, divide ingredient cost by your target: $3.50 ÷ 0.30 = $11.67 suggested price at 30% food cost.

What is a good food cost percentage for a small food business or bakery?

Most food businesses target a food cost percentage between 28% and 35%. Bakeries and cottage food producers often achieve lower food cost percentages (20–28%) because flour, sugar, and butter are inexpensive relative to retail prices. Full-service restaurants tend to run 30–35%. The right target depends on your labor costs, overhead, and pricing power in your market.

How do I calculate the cost per serving of a recipe?

Add up the ingredient cost for the full batch, then divide by the number of servings. For each ingredient, multiply the quantity used by the cost per unit (converting units as needed). For example: 8 oz flour at $0.89/lb = $0.89 ÷ 16 × 8 = $0.44. Sum all ingredient costs, then divide by servings. Percy Plate does this calculation automatically once you enter your ingredient prices and recipe quantities.

How does yield percentage affect recipe costing?

Yield percentage accounts for trim loss, cooking shrinkage, and waste. If you buy 1 lb of chicken but only 0.75 lb is usable after trimming, your yield is 75%. To get accurate food costs, divide the as-purchased cost by the yield percentage: $4.00/lb ÷ 0.75 = $5.33 per usable pound. Percy Plate lets you set a yield percentage (AP to EP) on any ingredient so your recipe costs reflect what you actually use.

What is the best recipe costing software for a small food business?

The best recipe costing software for a small food business depends on your needs. Percy Plate ($14.99/month) is built specifically for cottage food producers, food trucks, caterers, and small restaurants — it includes recipe costing, menu pricing, FDA ingredient labels, nutrition facts labels, inventory tracking, and revenue reporting. Competitors like meez start at $24/month and scale to $199/month. Square and Toast do not include recipe costing natively.

Is there free recipe costing software for home bakers or cottage food businesses?

Yes. Percy Plate has a free plan that includes recipe food cost calculation and menu pricing suggestions. The free plan lets you create up to 10 ingredients and 5 recipes. For unlimited recipes, FDA labels, nutrition facts, and inventory tracking, the paid plan is $14.99/month or $119.99/year. No credit card is required to start.

How do I price homemade baked goods to make a profit?

Start with your ingredient cost per batch, then divide by the number of units to get ingredient cost per item. Add packaging (boxes, bags, labels) as a per-unit cost. Then set a target food cost percentage — most cottage food bakers aim for 25–35% — and divide your total ingredient cost by that percentage to get a minimum price. For example: $0.85 ingredient cost per cookie ÷ 0.30 = $2.83 minimum price at 30% food cost. Factor in your time and overhead to ensure you are actually profitable, not just covering ingredients.

What are the labeling requirements for cottage food products?

Most states require cottage food labels to include: (1) the product name, (2) your name and home address, (3) a list of ingredients in descending order by weight, (4) a disclosure statement such as 'Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the state or local health department,' and (5) allergen declarations for any of the 9 major FDA allergens present. Some states also require net weight. Requirements vary by state — check your state's cottage food law for specifics. Nutrition Facts panels are generally not required for cottage food operations below a certain revenue threshold.

Do I need a nutrition facts label on my cottage food products?

Most cottage food producers are exempt from FDA Nutrition Facts label requirements under the small business exemption (fewer than 100 full-time employees and fewer than 100,000 units sold annually). However, you must still list ingredients in descending order by weight and declare all major allergens. Some states impose additional requirements. When in doubt, check your state's cottage food law and the FDA's small business labeling exemptions.

What allergens must I disclose on a homemade food label?

FDA requires disclosure of 9 major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. These must be declared on all food labels, including cottage food products — even if a full Nutrition Facts panel is not required. The standard format is a 'Contains:' statement after the ingredient list, for example: 'Contains: Wheat, Eggs, Milk.' Percy Plate detects all 9 allergens automatically from your ingredient names.

How do I create a nutrition facts label for homemade food?

To create a Nutrition Facts label for homemade food: (1) look up the nutrition data for each ingredient using the USDA FoodData Central database, (2) calculate the per-serving amounts for calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, sodium, and other nutrients, (3) format the panel according to FDA guidelines with serving size, servings per container, and daily value percentages. Percy Plate automates this — it looks up USDA nutrition data for your ingredients, calculates per-serving totals, and generates a print-ready FDA-format Nutrition Facts label for thermal or sheet labels.

How do I list ingredients in the correct order on a food label?

FDA regulations require ingredients to be listed in descending order by weight — the ingredient present in the greatest amount by weight must appear first. For example, if your muffin contains more flour than sugar, flour must be listed first. Sub-ingredients (like those in a chocolate chip) must be listed in parentheses immediately after the component. Percy Plate sorts ingredients automatically by weight when generating your label.

What information is required on a homemade food product label?

A complete homemade food label generally requires: (1) the name of the food, (2) the net quantity (weight or count), (3) an ingredient list in descending order by weight, (4) allergen declarations for all 9 major FDA allergens, (5) your business name and address, and (6) for cottage food specifically, a state-required disclosure statement such as 'Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the state health department.' Nutrition Facts panels are usually optional for small cottage food producers below certain revenue thresholds.

By Heidi Macomber · September 28, 2026

Food Cost Variance: The Hidden Number That Explains Where Your Money Goes

Theoretical food cost tells you what you SHOULD have spent. Actual food cost tells you what you DID spend. The gap between them is variance -- and it is the single most revealing number in your kitchen.

What Is Food Cost Variance?

Food cost variance is the difference between what your recipes say an ingredient should cost (theoretical) and what you actually spent on it (actual).

Variance = Actual Usage - Theoretical Usage

If your recipes say you should have used $4,000 of beef this week, but your inventory count shows you actually used $4,600, your variance is $600. That is $600 of beef that vanished into over-portioning, waste, theft, or bad invoices.

Why Most Operators Never See Variance

Most food businesses calculate food cost percentage once a month, maybe once a week. They divide purchases by sales and get a number. That number tells them something is wrong, but not what.

Variance analysis tells you exactly what is wrong and where. But it requires two things most operators do not have:

Recipe-level costing (theoretical usage per item sold)
Weekly inventory counts (actual usage)

Without both, you cannot calculate variance. You are flying blind.

How to Calculate Variance

Step 1: Calculate theoretical usage. For each menu item sold this week, multiply the quantity sold by the recipe cost for each ingredient. Sum across all items.

Example: You sold 100 burgers. Each burger uses 0.35 lbs of beef at $5.50/lb. Theoretical beef usage from burgers = 100 x 0.35 x $5.50 = $192.50 of beef.

Step 2: Calculate actual usage. Actual usage = Beginning inventory + Purchases - Ending inventory

If you started with $500 of beef, bought $2,000 more, and ended with $300, your actual usage is $500 + $2,000 - $300 = $2,200.

Step 3: Compare. If your theoretical beef usage across all menu items was $1,950 but actual was $2,200, your variance is $250 (12.8% over theoretical).

What Causes Variance?

Over-portioning (the #1 cause). Your line cook puts 6 oz of cheese on a burger instead of the 4 oz the recipe calls for. Over a week of 200 burgers, that is 25 extra lbs of cheese -- $150+ gone.

Waste and spoilage. Produce that goes bad before it is used. Prep that sits too long. Burned items that get remade.

Theft and comps. Food eaten by staff without being rung in. Free meals given to friends. These show up as variance.

Invoice errors. You were charged for 10 lbs of fish but received 9. If you do not check deliveries, you pay for variance you did not create.

Yield differences. You cost a recipe assuming 80% yield on trimmed lettuce, but this week's batch yielded only 65%. Real cost is higher than theoretical.

What Is an Acceptable Variance?

Industry benchmark: variance should be under 2% of theoretical cost in a well-run kitchen.

Under 1%: Excellent. Your controls are tight.
1-2%: Good. Normal operational variance.
2-4%: Problematic. You are losing real money. Investigate top variance items.
Over 4%: Critical. Something is structurally wrong -- over-portioning, theft, or a costing error.

How to Fix Variance

Portion control. Use scales, scoops, and ladles. Do not let cooks free-pour or eyeball portions. Post the correct portion size at each station.

Re-cost recipes quarterly. Ingredient prices change. If your theoretical costs are based on prices from 6 months ago, your variance numbers are meaningless.

Track by ingredient, not aggregate. A 2% overall variance might hide a 15% variance on beef and a 0% variance on everything else. Drill down.

Reconcile deliveries same-day. Count what arrived against what the invoice says. Short shipments are common.

Log waste. Every time something is thrown away, note it: item, amount, reason. Patterns emerge within weeks.

Where This All Lands

Variance is not a sexy number. Nobody posts about it on Instagram. But it is the number that separates operators who are profitable from operators who are busy and broke.

Start with one ingredient this week. Pick your highest-cost protein. Calculate what you should have used based on your recipes and sales. Then count what you actually used. The gap will tell you more about your kitchen than any food cost percentage ever has.

Stop guessing what your dishes cost.

Percy Plate calculates recipe costs, menu prices, and FDA-compliant labels for food businesses. Free to start.

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